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I am not against indicting killer cops. I just know that indictments won’t and can’t end oppressive policing which is rooted in anti-blackness, social control and containment.

Everyone I know is on edge. Will a grand jury in St. Louis indict or not? How will residents of Ferguson react if (as many expect) the grand jury advises against an indictment of Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Mike Brown? What will be the response of the St. Louis and Ferguson police? Photos of MRAPs and boarded up businesses proliferate on social media. Articles suggest that St. Louis police have been recently stockpiling riot gear and military grade weapons. It’s war, but that’s not new. Everyone is holding their breath.

On the other hand, what’s next if the grand jury does decide that Wilson should stand trial? So much psychic, emotional, and spiritual energy is focused on a successful indictment. I imagine the sighs of relief. I anticipate the countless social media posts crying out “justice!” I imagine that many exhausted protesters will decide that their work is done. I fear a return to our seductive slumber and to complacency.

I’m not invested in indicting Darren Wilson though I understand its (symbolic) import to many people, most especially Mike Brown’s family and friends. Vincent Warren of the Center on Constitutional Rights speaks for many, I think, when he writes:

Without accountability, there can be no rule of law. If Wilson is not indicted, or is under-indicted, the clear message is that it is open season on people of color, that St. Louis has declared that Darren Wilson is not a criminal but that the people who live under the thumbs of the Darren Wilsons of this country are. It would say to the cry that “Black lives matter” that, no, in fact, they do not.

I understand the sentiment that Warren expresses. Yet I don’t believe that an indictment of Wilson would be evidence that black lives do in fact matter to anyone other than black people. Nor do I think his indictment would mean that it was no longer open season on people of color in this country. If we are to take seriously that oppressive policing is not a problem of individual “bad apple” cops then it must follow that a singular indictment will have little to no impact on ending police violence. As I type, I can already feel the impatience and frustration of some who will read these words.

It feels blasphemous to suggest that one is disinvested from the outcome of the grand jury deliberations. “Don’t you care about accountability for harm caused?” some will ask. “What about justice?” others will accuse. My response is always the same: I am not against indicting killer cops. I just know that indictments won’t and can’t end oppressive policing which is rooted in anti-blackness, social control and containment. Policing is derivative of a broader social justice. It’s impossible for non-oppressive policing to exist in a fundamentally oppressive and unjust society. The truth is that as the authors of Struggle for Justice wrote in 1971 “without a radical change in our values and a drastic restructuring of our social and economic institutions” we can only achieve modest reforms of the criminal punishment system (including policing).

The pattern after police killings is all too familiar. Person X is shot & killed. Person X is usually black (or less frequently brown). Community members (sometimes) take to the streets in protest. They are (sometimes) brutally suppressed. The press calls for investigations. Advocates call for reforms suggesting that the current practices and systems are ‘broken’ and/or unjust. There is a (racist) backlash by people who “support” the police. A very few people whisper that the essential nature of policing is oppressive and is not susceptible to any reforms, thus only abolition is realistic. These people are considered heretic by most. I’ve spent years participating in one way or another in this cycle.

Knowing all of this, what can/should we do to end oppressive policing? We have to take various actions in the short, medium and long term. We have to act at the individual, community, institutional, and societal levels.

For my own part, I start by never calling the cops. I hope more people will join me in that practice. It demands that we feel for the edge of our imaginations to stop relying on the police. It takes practice to do this. As such, we need popular education within our communities about the need to create alternatives to policing.

I vocally and actively oppose any calls for increased police presence as a response to harm in my community and in my city. At budget time, I pay attention to how much money is allocated to law enforcement. I press my local elected officials to oppose any increases in that amount and to instead advocate for a DECREASE in the police department’s budget. I support campaigns for reparations to police torture & violence victims. I support elected civilian police accountability councils and boards (knowing full well that they are bandaids). I believe that we need grassroots organizations in every town & city that document and publicize the cases of people who have suffered from police violence. These organizations should use all levers of power to seek redress for those victims and their families.

I list these actions with the understanding that together they aren’t enough to end oppressive policing. They will lessen the harm to be sure but only building power among those most marginalized in society holds the possibility of radical transformation. And that’s an endless quest for justice. That’s a struggle rather than a goal. Only movements can build power. We need a movement for transformative justice.

To the young people who have taken to the streets across the country and are agitating for some ‘justice’ in this moment, I hope that you don’t invest too deeply in the Ferguson indictment decision. Don’t let a nonindictment crush your spirit and steal your hope. Hope is a discipline. And frankly, the actions you have and are taking inspire so many daily. On the other hand, a decision to indict Darren Wilson isn’t a victory for ‘justice’ or an end. As I’ve already said, an indictment won’t end police violence or prevent the death of another Mike Brown or Rekia Boyd or Dominique Franklin. We must organize with those most impacted by oppression while also making room for others who want to join the struggle too as comrades. As Kwame Ture often said: “We need each other. We have to have each other for our survival.” Take this admonition seriously. We should use the occasion of the indictment announcement to gather and to continue to build power together. This is how we will win.

If so many black people are so concerned with black lives, then where is the outcry for the thousands of black people killed every year at the hands of fellow black people?

Where are the riots in the inner city over gang violence? Why aren't they burning their own neighborhoods down?

Brown did not deserve to die, but he should have known better. Chris Rock summarized it well in "How not to get your __ kicked by the police"

Posted by Historyisfuture on 2014-11-25 10:26:17

"Stop calling the cops." Check your privilege.

Posted by Stephen Karlson on 2014-11-25 08:16:59

realtalk u a dick

Posted by jkl on 2014-11-22 15:24:34

Just throwing this in here, but a week before this shooting happened, an unarmed white man was killed by a black cop. Weird how it happens on both ends, huh? This isn't a race war. We don't even have all the facts and you have your mind made up based on what? Don't make up your mind based on news reports. They say what they want to say in order to get views. Their jobs depend on your interest.

Posted by Holly on 2014-11-22 13:12:02

Yes there is proof that happened and no not all witnesses have agreed to that. Do some research before you assault someone else's opinion. The autopsy revealed that his hands were not up and that he was likely charging the officer. He assaulted the officer and sent him to the hospital. Do I think any of that is a reason to be killed? No. But I don't think it's okay to pretend he was innocent in this mess. There are bad cops and good cops just like there are bad people and good people. It's unfortunate that it happened, but the cop did what he was trained to do.

Posted by Holly on 2014-11-22 13:00:16

The autopsy reports, as far as we know about them, don't support the lying witnesses. NObody has the facts, unless you're sitting on the grand jury. You are the one who wants to throw out the "innocent until proven guilty" maxim that has served this country well for 250 years.

Posted by NikotheFarmer on 2014-11-21 22:34:38

Yeah, but Ferguson needs a drop of justice, more than revenge. If the system can indite the killer, then maybe, maybe... o, let's not kid. It doesn't matter so. But he's undoubtedly got protection, and no one would care if a million black people died on his lawn, as long as they could pretend that the black folk were trying to kill Wilson - no matter what the black folk's intent would be on approaching him.

Posted by Etavargga on 2014-11-21 18:39:15

BWAHAHA, you show that you can't be taken seriously now.

Posted by Etavargga on 2014-11-21 18:35:09

Autopsy reports and all of the witnesses. Your turn. Where are your "facts" that he was defending himself? You hypocrite.

Posted by Etavargga on 2014-11-21 18:34:06

Audrey, what information is hearsay? Anything that has been said by EYEWITNESSES is NOT hearsay: it is ADMISSIBLE evidence based on FIRST HAND information. So it's not hearsay. Hearsay is when someone else gives an account of facts based on what SOMEONE else told them. THAT is hearsay. It is NOT hearsay when an eyewitness gives an accurate account on what they OBSERVED. Hearsay is any out of court assertion of facts. Simple as that.

The rule prohibiting hearsay (out of court statements offered as proof of that statement) from being admitted as evidence because of the inability of the other party to cross-examine the maker of the statement. There are a number of exceptions to the hearsay rule (including present-sense impression, excited utterances, declarations of present state of mind, dyng and the business records exeptions), as well as things defined not to be hearsay (admission of a party-opponent, and prior statements of a witness). The two construction workers gesturing in the video that Brown had his hands up is considered present sense impression, and declarations of present state of mind because they were present and SAW (observed) what occurred when Wilson murdered Brown.

Posted by TreAnthony on 2014-11-20 03:23:37

TreyAnthony What a coward you are. You spout your tribble about Justice and fairness yet seek to lynch a man based on hear say. The real pity is that you could not care less about any facts. This event merely serves to fan the flames of your own racism. I would love to see what information exists in the court archives on you. pathetic!

Posted by audrey johnson on 2014-11-20 00:10:09

Paul C.

Re: your the "silliness of a grand jury".

Quite a believer in short-circuiting the judicial system, aren't you? As well as the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" and "due process" as well.

Actually, I don't see the way Wilson conducted himself as being even remotely significant in comparison with the way an entire ethnic group seemed to present itself in the weeks that followed. Where is the justice due those who so openly defied the law in the aftermath of of Brown's death? Don't they deserve to be indicted to? Or at least have the possibility of their having committed crimes reviewed by a grand jury? Why were they let off so easily? Because of their skin color? Their ethnicity? Their political "correctness"?

I'm writing this to help you understand that there are quite a few of us out here because the law doesn't seem to apply to those it SHOULD be being applied to...and we're not thinking of Officer Wilson her.

Isn't it time for a truly level playing field...in which ALL parties are held responsible for THEIR conduct, and not given a "bye"?

Posted by Ken_Meyer on 2014-11-19 17:54:35

FACT... awwww good ol boy dont be mad its just the lame truth...

Posted by Tony on 2014-11-19 14:39:35

I'm pretty sure i'm right about blacks having a mean IQ of 85. Proving this in the genome is now only a matter of time. liberalsim has an expiry date of perhaps 10 years.

Posted by Max Sarrazin on 2014-11-19 00:38:55

That's real classy asshole

Posted by Matt on 2014-11-18 21:55:50

Read the autopsy report

Posted by Matt on 2014-11-18 21:53:31

I hope you know as well ask I do that an I dictment will not satisfy protestors. Officer Wilson is guilty in their eyes as well as yours.

Posted by Matt on 2014-11-18 21:52:49

You've contrived your own facts. You have to. It's the only way you even have a narrative.

Don't be a criminal. White or black, you'll be fine in this great country of ours.

Posted by NikotheFarmer on 2014-11-18 21:14:02

I am not sure remedial biology classes can fix your kind of stupid, but it is worth a try.

Posted by AnotherMan2 on 2014-11-18 17:02:55

How was he defending himself when he's shooting at the UNARMED person 30 feet away.

Posted by TreAnthony on 2014-11-18 14:11:00

INTERNAL MEMORANDUM

To: ALL PROTESTORS of FERGUSON MISSOURI

From: Security Division

Subject: Darren D. WILSON, Current Address

The purpose of this memo is to advise ALL protestors of Ferguson Missouri ofthe current address for Darren D. Wilson. Based upon information obtained fromthe Circuit Court for Saint Louis County, Darren Dean Wilson currently residesat 221 EXCALIBUR in TROY, MO 63379. Wilson recently divorced his wife, AshleyWilson, who resides at: 1423 DE PORRES in ST CHARLES, MO 63304. On November 18, 2013, the Court allowed Ashley to have her former name, ASHLEY NICOLE BROWN.This was an UNCONTESTED DIVORCE.

All of this information is verifiable at the St Charles Circuit Division. Thecase number and style is: 1311-FC00754 - DARREN D WILSON V ASHLEY WILSON.

A full-field background investigation has been initiated and additionalinformation will be posted when that investigation has been concluded.

Posted by TreAnthony on 2014-11-18 14:10:23

Why lock a cop up that the evidence shows was defending himself? He was either hugging Brown when he shoot him OR Brown was on top of in his own patrol car. Get a grip on reality! Funny how we have Brown on tape committing a felony, but then when it comes to attacking a police officer everyone says....'he would never do a thing like that!' Wake up!

Posted by worstnightmare12 on 2014-11-18 13:49:47

Oh that's why, geee Tony your so smart!......lame comment!

Posted by Guest on 2014-11-18 09:25:44

I really look forward to reading your low life comments i get a kick out of you Mericans let the WORLD see just how you are remember not only the US is watching ...Real talk Mr. Brown was not a felon just African American like so many others that have died at the hands of a white man but this to shall come to a end and it will not be good for you good ole boys but will be a good day in America. ISIS dont want to kill African Amercans THEY WANT YOU ....wonder why ?? ask your self that ..

Posted by Tony on 2014-11-18 08:18:56

This stupid webzine trashed nick wade's book. What a shame because his book contained almost everything required to understand what's happening here. Black people have a mean IQ of 85 as well as possessing alleles, at a higher rate than whites, that induce violence.

Posted by Max Sarrazin on 2014-11-17 23:48:45

this article tries to parse an issue that can't be parsed, then try to broaden it in order to trivialize the immediate issue. One of the small steps is taking cops who over step their bounds to court and give them the proper consequence if found guilty

Having Darren Wilson indicted is a small step towards the right direction. If every cop who ends up oppressing people beyond the law were taken to court, most cops wouldn't be doing it. Though personally I don't care if it stops cops from being racist or not... the law should be consistent regardless of your skin color. People aren't angry simply because a white cop killed a black teen, it's because the white cop should obviously go to trial without any of this silliness of a grand jury.

People aren't upset because there are racists, they're upset because the law, the foundation that direct what is and isn't legal doesn't seem to apply to those who enforce it. Having Wilson go to court and let it play out fairly would help this community with this problem.

Also... there was an answer to how to deal with this. Put cameras on all the cops and make them more accountable. that link to http://alternativestopolicing.... seems to be a waste of time.. or an attempt to raise their traffic. The initial problem wasn't that someone called the police, but that the police stopped someone and in the end killed that person. It's like telling a class of third graders to draw pictures to help cure cancer.. it's something to do but it's just window dressing.

Posted by Paul C on 2014-11-17 17:45:44

Michael Brown is on tape assaulting and robbing a store owner just minutes prior to attempting to kill a police officer. Had Michael Brown never committed robbery that day, never attempted to kill a police officer, we wouldn't be here. You want truth and justice then speak the truth, Brown was a felon!

Posted by Real Talk on 2014-11-17 17:05:31

It is America, where native-white Americans rules everywhere, and blacks and minority have only rights to live, not with dignity, human rights, constitution rights, fairness and justice.Unless, the ratio of rednecks in the government and police force is changed, many Wilsons will kill Many Browns, and nothing will happen. So far the police force has pocketed more than 8 million dollars in overtime-benefits and a million dollar in pay and the poor citizens have lost their customers, wages and so on. Till the fake drama of legal actions will be completed, many times more public fund will be pocketed by the police force, and many times more income will be lost by the public. OH! Yes, many lawyers, attorneys and media companies will also enjoy the bumper crop!!